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Schedulingaka: slackaka: total floataka: free float

Float

In Plain English

The amount of time an activity can slip without delaying the overall project completion.

Definition

Float (also called slack) is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project completion date (total float) or without delaying any successor activity (free float). Activities with zero total float are on the critical path. Ownership of float — whether it belongs to the owner, contractor, or project — is frequently a contractual issue with significant implications for delay analysis.

Why It Matters in Bidding

Float governs which activities a scheduler and estimator can sequence loosely versus those that must be resourced tightly, since critical-path items with zero float dictate the completion date. In bidding and claims, who owns the float determines who absorbs the cost of delay, making it a high-stakes contractual term that shapes risk pricing and recovery strategies.

Example

During a delay claim, the contractor's scheduler demonstrates that an owner-directed change consumed all the float on the steel-erection path, converting a non-critical activity into a critical one and supporting a time-extension request.

Related Terms

Critical PathCritical Path Method (CPM)Baseline ScheduleTime Impact Analysis (TIA)

Frequently Asked Questions

Total float is how long an activity can slip before pushing the project completion date; free float is how long it can slip without delaying any immediate successor. Free float is always equal to or less than total float, and only delays beyond free float ripple into downstream work.
Float ownership is often disputed. Some contracts state float belongs to the project and is consumed first-come, first-served; others assign it to the owner or contractor. The answer drives delay analysis, because whoever owns the float controls whether a delay translates into a compensable time extension.
Delay claims hinge on whether an activity was on the critical path when the disruption occurred. If a delayed task still had float, it likely did not extend completion and may not justify a time extension. Float analysis therefore separates excusable, compensable delays from absorbable ones.

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